The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and Germany’s Import Promotion Desk (IPD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the natural ingredients, cut flowers and sustainable seafood sectors reach buyers in Germany and the wider European Union (EU).
The agreement gives structure to a working relationship that is already producing results. Under it, the two teams will run joint sourcing missions to find export-ready South African companies, bring German and European importers to meet them at home, and take selected exporters to Europe on market-orientation and selling missions. IPD will also set up business-to-business meetings for South African companies at trade fairs in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Training and coaching on European market requirements will run alongside this, and the two organisations will share market intelligence.
“The partnership is also meant to strengthen the export support ecosystem. It will help the department and other relevant stakeholders develop and improve its own export services, particularly market intelligence, export know-how and matchmaking, so that this support continues beyond any single mission.
The timing matters. Germany is South Africa’s third-largest trading partner globally, after China and the United States, and the largest within the EU, with bilateral trade growing by about 14% to US$16.5 billion in 2025. The European market also forms part of the Butterfly Strategy, the dtic’s export diversification plan which aims to lift South Africa’s export value to R3 trillion by 2030. Agreements like this one carry that ambition down to the level of the individual company.
“South African exporters have the quality and the ambition. What many of them need is a door into the European market and someone who can show them how to walk through it,” said the Acting Deputy Director-General of Exports at the dtic, Mr Willem van der Spuy.
“IPD knows what German and European buyers look for, and its team has already spent time with our producers on the ground. This MoU turns that goodwill into a plan of missions, training and a regular rhythm of working together, so that more of our SMEs land real orders in Europe. It will also strengthen the dtic’s own ability to keep supporting exporters long after the first missions are done,” added Van der Spuy.
The Head of IPD Dr Julia Bellinghausen elaborated: “Building successful trade relationships takes more than bringing buyers and suppliers together. It requires trust, market knowledge and long-term commitment. Through our partnership with the dtic, we want to support South African SMEs turn their export potential into lasting business relationships across Europe, while strengthening the local structures that support them along the way.”
The partnership builds on the dtic’s existing work to prepare exporters. The National Exporter Development Programme, through its various programmes, supports emerging and experienced exporters so they are export-ready and can last in international markets. IPD’s sourcing, coaching on EU standards and buyer introductions give those businesses a practical route to market once they are ready.
IPD is no newcomer to South Africa. It carried out a sourcing mission in March 2026 to assess natural ingredient and cut flower producers on product quality, export readiness and compliance with European standards, and its support is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In January 2025 it also took fynbos cut flowers from the Cape to the IPM trade fair in Essen. The MoU builds on this work.
Companies will be selected on their export readiness and experience, their ability to meet EU regulatory, quality and sustainability standards, their potential for growth, and how well they fit the trade priorities of both partners. Details of upcoming missions and how to take part will be communicated in due course.
About the Import Promotion Desk (IPD)
The Import Promotion Desk (IPD) is a project-based platform that promotes imports into the Federal Republic of Germany. It was established in 2012 by the development organisation sequa gGmbH and the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), and is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). IPD works with partner countries, including South Africa, to build sustainable, well-structured supply chains into German and European markets. In South Africa it currently works in natural ingredients, cut flowers and sustainable seafood.
Media Enquiries: the dtic
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
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E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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Media Enquiries: IPD
Sandra Freiberg – Head of IPD Marketing / PR
Tel: +49 (0) 228 909 00 81 63
E-Mail: freiberg@importpromotiondesk.de
Issued by: Import Promotion Desk (IPD)
Website: www.importpromotiondesk.de
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/import-promotion-desk/
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